Dan Wilbur Pivonka

Dan Wilbur Pivonka, 88, passed away Aug. 12, 2013. Funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 22, at St. John's Catholic Church, Stoneham.

Dan was born Feb. 21, 1925, in Stoneham. His parents immigrated from Bohemia Czechoslovakia and lived in Omaha, Neb., before homesteading in Stoneham.

Dad grew up in Stoneham and had lifelong friends, knowing KC Holzworth and Virgil Johnson for over 80 years and so enjoyed talking with them. He loved basketball and baseball and at one point he and all of his brothers played on the baseball team at the same time. He graduated high school with his seven classmates and wanted to enlist in the armed services but due to a heart murmur could not, so instead he moved to Utah to become an airplane mechanic.

With Dad's sense of adventure, he then moved to Lansing, Mich., to work for the Ford Motor Company as a welder on the assembly line but would always send a portion of his paycheck to his mother, who still lived in Stoneham.

A year and a half in Michigan was long enough to be away from home and upon his return he engaged in ranching, farming and custom harvesting for the next 47 years. Custom harvesting took him from Oklahoma to the border of Canada until he married Naomi Jean Huey on June 19, 1955. Dan and Jean celebrated 58 wonderful years of marriage this year. Mom did question Dad's dream about the farm's possibilities when he showed her the kitchen for the first time and the only water was a hand pump.

They had three children whom he loved dearly and always had time to help with barrel racing, playing catch, or a tea party.

Growing up and putting food on the table meant hunting and he carried this through his adult life as well as being an avid outdoorsman exploring the USA . He passed this onto his children and wife by going camping and boating in 47 states in the U.S. On one such trip Dad drove from Atwood to Montreal, Canada, to Westport, Wash., before heading back to the farm.

Later in life Dad liked to visit his roots and go to the original homestead where the foundation and storm cellar are still evident as well as the home he grew up in which sits on a hill that overlooks Stoneham.

His family will miss him dearly for his lively conversations and his loving generosity.

Dan is survived by his wife, Jean Pivonka of Atwood; daughter, Lori Pivonka and husband Nic Klein of Fort Collins; daughter, Shelley Paul and husband Scott Paul of Fort Collins; son, Troy Pivonka and wife Bea Pivonka of Fort Collins; four grandchildren, Griffin, Carly, Keenan and Giovuna.

Dan was preceded in death by his brothers, Charlie Pivonka, Jim Pivonka, Ed Pivonka, John Pivonka; and his sister, Agnes Pivonka.